Who is the Dominant Partner between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?

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The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is very strange. In

the relationship, throughout the play, both take turns to assume

the role of being the dominant partner. What is unusual about this is

the fact that at this period in time, the man typically was the one

controlling the relationship, but in this case, for a lot of the time

it is in fact Lady Macbeth that is the dominant force in their

relationship.

In Act 1, Scene 5 we can see that Lady Macbeth is very ambitious for

Macbeth. I believe that the reason she is so eager for the prophecies

about Macbeth to come true, is because she knows that if Macbeth

becomes a more important figure in society, so will she. Lady Macbeth

declares, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be what thou art

promised.” This tells us that she is very optimistic and confident of

the prophecy coming true, and Macbeth succeeding Duncan as king.

Although this statement shows that she is confident of Macbeth

becoming King, she then goes onto show some signs of uncertainty over

Macbeth’s kind and gentle nature, by confessing, “Yet do I fear thy

nature”. This tells us that she is concerned that Macbeth lacks the

evil ruthless streak that is needed for him to kill Duncan and succeed

him as king. In order to enhance any evil and ruthlessness that

Macbeth does possess, Lady Macbeth tries to make Macbeth feel that he

deserves to be king more than Duncan by using flattery. She says to

Macbeth “Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor! Greater than both”, which

through sarcasm suggests that he is above these titles, and thoroughly

deserves to be king.

In this scene we can clearly see that Lady Macbeth is t...

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...d helped each other in their time of need. Before they

became king and queen they worked together as a team, this is shown by

the way that Macbeth calls Lady Macbeth his “dearest partner of

greatness,” however this is not the case after they gain the crown, as

they both work as individuals. This may be a contributing factor to

the deterioration of their relationship. Although parts of this play

go against the way men and women behaved during relationships at the

time, the final outcome is in keeping with the traditions of the time.

This moral of this play is that women cannot handle a role of

powerfulness and dominance, with Lady Macbeth yielding to the effects

of her powerfulness, and eventually becoming insane, whereas men

prosper with power and dominance, with Macbeth now stronger and more

powerful than ever before.

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